Lace



J. STEEL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 1 1917' Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

Inuenfor Jmgs $1 eel UfiETEE STATES LACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

Application filed December 29, 1917. Serial No. 209,493.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES STEEL, a subject of the King of England,residing at 21 Huntly road, Elm Park, Fairfield, Liverpool, in thecounty of Lancaster, England, secretary, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in or Relating to Laces, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to laces for boots, shoes, and the like, of thattype in which a head or enlargement is formed or provided on or at oneend of the lace for the purpose of stopping or preventing it frompassing completely through an eyelet.

A lace, according to my invention, is characterized in that there isformed or provided at one end a fiat or disk-like head, a portion of thelace proper being formed out of the disk by cutting or opening thereintoin a direction toward the middle or center thereof; in other words thelace proper when pulled out at approximately right angles to the diskaswhen applied to a bootcommences at the base of the slot formed in thedisk by the incisions therein; thus said disk will lie evenly andfiatlyagainst the interior wall of the boot and not cause any discomfortto the foot.

A lace with stop-disk, according to my invention,'may obviously beformed of suitable substances other than leather or the like; as, forinstance, it may be made of mohair or other woven material.

In'some cases said disk may be-stifiened or hardened by dipping in asuitable indurating solution.

I will further describe my invention with the aid of 'the accompanyingsheet of explanatory drawings in which Figures 1 and 2 illustrate theapplication of the lace to a boot, Fig. 1 showing said boots partiallylaced and Fig. 2 showing it completely laced.

Fig. 3 shows in front and side elevation the head end of the lace, drawnto an enlarged scale as compared with Figs. 1 and 2, and prior to itsapplication to a boot or shoe.

Fig. 1 shows in front elevation, side elevation and plan view, therelative positions of the head and lace proper when inserted in a boot.

Referring first more particularly to Figs. 3 and 1, a represents thedisk-like head of a leather lace and b b is the lace proper, portion 5whereof is formed out of the disk a by cutting into the latter; thuswhen the lace is fitted in the boot the parts assume the pos tion shownin Fig. 4, disk or, lying flatly against the boot wall.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, whlch illustrate themethod of lacing The lace is inserted through one of the bottom eyeletsso that the disk a lies flatly between the tongue and boot upper; thelace is then threaded through all the eyelets in the ordinary way andthe free end 6 is brought to the boot top, the part b immediately abovethe two top eyelets being allowed to hang loose (Fig. 1).

Vith this loose lace portion 6 the lacing 1s contmued on the hooks leftand right, mlsslng each alternate hook, on both sides, unt 1l tne top ofthe boot is reached. The lacingis then continued downwardly on thevacant hooks, when the free end 6 is pulled V taut and passed inside thetop of the boot, (Fig. 2). To unloosen the lace, it is merely necessaryto pull up that portion of it between the top eyelet and bottom hook andundo in the usual manner.

Having now described my invention what I claim is new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is z A lace having an integral circular head atone end thereof and said head provided with slits alining with the sideedges of the lace and extending to the diameter of said circular headwhich is at a right angle to said lace so that the end of the lace is aportion removed from the head and said head JAMES STEEL.

Witnesses:

JOHN HINDLEY WALKER, EMILY BURNETT.

